The Commercial Album (Preserved Edition)＜限定盤＞

1970年代初頭の結成以来、約50年間アメリカのレフト・フィールド・ミュージックをリードし続ける目玉集団レジデンツ。1980年にリリースされた名盤『COMMERCIAL ALBUM』がヴァイナル・リイシュー。

オリジナル・アルバム収録曲に加え、オリジナル・マルチトラック・テープを使用してグループがリワークした『OMS 1-3 RDX Suite』を追加収録した2LPエディション。更に新規スリーヴノート・エッセイを収録しています。

Here's the concept: The structure of most pop songs consists of only two parts, the verse and the chorus. Since the verse and chorus usually repeat three times in a three-minute song, a pop tune really only consists of one minute of music. Cut out the repetition and you can, therefore, fit 40 pop songs onto a 40-minute record. And that's exactly what the Residents have done on The Commercial Album, the title of which comes from the band's deduction that since pop songs only consist of one minute of music and most advertisements are about a minute long also, ad jingles are "therefore the music of America." Got it? Whatever the concept behind it, this album is not only weird in that special way that only Residents albums are, but it's also surprisingly musically satisfying. A few of its 40 tracks ("Secrets" and "The Simple Song," for example) feel like throwaways, but most of them are surprisingly well organized and complete. The instrumental "Japanese Watercolor" is particularly impressive, as are the songs "Picnic Boy" and "Troubled Man." This album would make a great introduction to the Residents for anyone who hasn't yet been exposed to the band's unique brand of whimsy. ~ Rick Anderson